Tape.



W. L. E. KEUFFBL.

TAPE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2. 1913.

Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

, Inventor:

by {ham/M QM ITED gIAEE PAET @EEIQEE.

WILLIE L. E. KEUEEEL, 0F HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE KEUFFEL &ESSER COMPANY, OF I-IOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TAPE.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIE L. E. KEUFFEL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tapes, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tape measures and its novelty consists in themanner of designating the graduations thereon whereby they may be readquickly and without confusion.

Tape measures are graduated in terms of linear measurement; in feet andinches usually where the English system is employed and in meters andcentimeters where the French system is employed, each of course withappropriate subdivisions. Assuming such a tape to be graduated in termsof feet and inches the usual subdivision of the inch is into eighths,the half inch being indicated by a line somewhat shorter than thatindicating a full inch, the quarter inch being indicated by a yetshorter line and the eighth inch by a still shorter line. When the tapeis unrolled and the designation of the nearest foot numeral is notreadily visible mistakes frequently occur in reading the actual distancemeasured. Attempts have been made to avoid this diiiiculty. The Frenchrepeat with each subdivision designation the designation of thepreceding main division writing the whole distance as though it were anumber followed by a decimal. ing or worse than the original; forinstance, numbers like 10.01 or 33.03 are continually being misread.Another attempt has been to repeat the number of the main divisionbefore each subdivision. With such a tape for example, the one shown inthe figure of the drawing, it is evident that the user might as readilyread the graduation intended to indicate 43 feet 10 and one-half inchesas 10 feet 43 inches or read 44 inches as 11 feet at inches or A l feet1 inch as 4444: feet 1 inch. Much complaint has been made of thedisadvantage of these systems and this has led to the invention whichforms the subject matter of this application and in which, while theSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 2, 1813.

This, however, is just as confus- Patented Dec. 16, 1913.

Serial No. 739,614.

numerals designating the main divisions are repeated before thesubdivisions, they are arranged so as to read in a difi'erent direc tionwhereby they simply cannot be confused with the regular and usualnumerals designating the graduations. Moreover, as the first subdivisionis always in close proximity to the main division the repeatingdesignation for that first subdivision is omitted and this materiallyhelps in the easy reading of the tape.

In the drawing the figure represents a tape provided with my improvedsystem.

In the drawing A designates a portion, say the last four inches, of the43rd foot of a tape graduated to English lineal measurement and Bdesignates a portion of the i ith foot of the same tape. The numberindicated at O, in this case 44:, is the designation of the foot, ormain division, of the tape. The numbers indicated at D, E, F, G, H, andI, are the designations of the inches, or subdivisions, of the tape.This is the usual graduation into feet and inches, and the divisions ofthe inch are indicated by lines of varying length in the usual manner asstated. Before and comparatively close to the inch designations are therepeating designations of the preceding main foot designation whichrepeating designations are in the drawing indicated at m, m, m, etc.,for the inches of the 43rd foot and at n, n, it, etc., for the inches ofthe 441th foot, the repeating number for the first inch of the 44th footbeing omitted. It will be noticed that all of these repeatingdesignations we and n are arranged to be read in a direction distinctlydifferent from that in which the other designating numerals are read; infact in the illustration, they are arranged to be read in a line at aright angle to such direction. As above stated this makes confusionimpossible.

What I claim as new is:

A tape measure suitably graduated and provided with numbers inconsecutive order indicating the main divisions and sets of intermediatenumbers, those of each set being in consecutive order and respectivelyindicating the subdivisions between the adjacent main divisions, thenumbers indicating each main division being repeated in con- Int-estimon whereof I aflix my signature nection with numbers indicatingthe sub- 1n presence 0 two Witnesses. dlvislons of the next succeed ngmam division and said repeated numbers being placed VILLIE KEUFFEL' toread in a difierent direction from the Witnesses:

numbers indicating either the main or sub- OTTO FREUN J in,

divisions.

BOWDEWINE B. VAN SIOKLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for fivecents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

